Remember Me
by Acqua Leaf
Summary: "The blond homunculus struggled to break free. A strained animalistic wail rang in Alphonse's ears. It was not human anymore. It was an abomination. It should not have been born." Pride!Ed.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

 **Remember Me**

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An eighteen-year-old Alphonse Elric found himself in the middle of a grass field. It was late at night and a sapphire sky blended perfectly with the jade grass. It must be a dream; it has to be. If he was in Resembool, he would be able to see the town, the river, a trail, or something.

He had a sickening feeling. This cannot be good. Alphonse started to search the grass field for anyone. Hopefully Winry or Mustang, which means that this is not a nightmare. His heart sank when he spotted a mixture of red and gold, a red coat with the flamel symbol and a golden braid. There is only one person who matches that description.

"Brother!" Alphonse called him as loud as he could. He would not help feeling excited seeing Edward.

The small boy slowly turned around to reveal a dead amber stare. His face was expressionless. The boy tried to breathe out something, but had trouble forming the words.

Alphonse knew this was a dream. Edward looked like he has not aged at all. This was a trick. He could not help himself. He owed his brother his life. Seeing him struggle was something that he could not bear. He ran towards him, arms stretched out so he could hold him again. It's been so long since he gave him a hug.

Edward started to tremble when Alphonse approached him. The scenery darkened to a black bliss. Al's sickening feeling worsened, but he tried his best not to let it show on his face. Edward looked up at Al's tall stature and finally whispered in a shaky voice, help.

Before Alphonse could respond, his brother was violently pulled into the shadows by an unknown presence. Alphonse's eyes widened with pain and desperation. He sharply inhaled and screamed as loud as he could, "Edward!"

* * *

Al found himself sitting up in a bed drenched with sweat. It has been a little over a year since Edward disappeared and everyone feared the worst. Alphonse believed he is still alive, somewhere. Dreams like those made him fear that Edward is trapped somewhere helpless, scared, and need him. The nationwide manhunt had no luck. Al joined the military just to help them search. All of this effort, and still nothing.

He is currently in Resembool, because Winry begged him to come and visit. It was extremely hard on her when Pinako passed. She became lonely wondering around in the big house by herself.

It was hard for Alphonse to sleep there. He used to share this room with Edward. He rose from his bed and quickly fled the house. He needed fresh air. Al did not check if he woke Winry up or not. He wanted to avoid this conversation. It made him cry. The cool night air can prevent that.

Alphonse absentmindedly started to walk down the dirt trail. He did not have a destination. He needed to clear his mind and let the cool air hit his face. He stared at his feet and watched them move one at a time. He did not want to look at the remains of his childhood home. He heard soft footsteps coming from that direction. He glanced up and froze when he saw long gold hair. It was not in a braid and there wasn't a red coat, but that could only be one person.

Fearing he was in another dream, he started to creep closer to the short blond. He saw red tattoos covered the boy's arms and legs. His outfit was nearly identical to Envy's. The blond slowly turned to reveal dead gold eyes. At that moment, Alphonse noticed the Ouroboros tattoo on the blond's shoulder.

Alphonse stopped breathing. He felt lightheaded as he examined the new homunculus. It started to back away cautiously, not sure what to do. Rage grew inside Alphonse. It's Edward. His brother, his only family, is a homunculus now. They took him and turned him into a monster. Edward wouldn't want this. That is why he asked for help in his dream. He needs to be liberated so he can finally rest. Ed deserves that much.

Hot tears strode down Al's cheeks. He clenched his fists in anger and growled as blood filled his head. The homunculus summoned a large scythe, aware of the pending danger.

Alphonse charged at the homunculus in blind rage, dodging every attack from the scythe. The homunculus is very inexperienced, because he lost his memory. It did not take long for Alphonse to get the scythe away from the blond. With a quick clap, Alphonse trapped the homunculus in a pair of stone hands.

The blond homunculus struggled to break free. A strained animalistic wail rang in Alphonse's ears. It was not human anymore. It was an abomination. It should not have been born.

Alphonse was in blind with rage as picked up the scythe. His eyes were red from crying two rivers of tears. His jaw was clenched tight and he was sucking in hard breathes for oxygen. He walked over to the trapped homunculus with the scythe in both hands. The homunculus stopped screaming and struggling, he glared at his attacker.

Alphonse stood in front of his prey to slay it. He lifted the scythe ready to strike. Al saw his face and rotated the scythe with his wrist. Then he stroke Edward on the head with the back of the scythe, leaving him unconscious.

Alphonse dropped the weapon as soon as he used it. He clapped his hands again and released the homunculus. It flopped to the grass, semi-dead. Al walked over to it and gathered it up in his arms. He held it tight as his tears started to sprinkle in the gold hair.

The look it gave Alphonse before he hit it, it was the look of pure hatred. Al knew that look, it was his brother's. This thing is his brother. Al's sobs grew louder. He finally found his brother.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

Winry found herself in the dining room of the Rockbell house. It was a sunny summer morning. The gold sun rays made the inside of the house light up bright gold. A sunny day would usually be enough to brighten Winry's mood. Sadly, there has been something missing for over a year now, or someone.

The Rockbell house has not been the same since Edward vanished. No one challenged Pinako and made her yell at the top of her lungs. No one would get into shouting matches with Winry that would end with a broken door or a wrench being used as a weapon. There has only been an eerily quiet and Winry could hear the floorboards creak.

Winry stumbled to the kitchen aimlessly. The kitchen could give her a few moments of chores to keep her from wondering about Edward's whereabouts. She felt a little relief when she saw a sink full of dishes.

"Hey Winry,"

The engineer snapped her head to her greeter, stunned. She slowly inhaled until she couldn't hold. Her shaky hands covered her mouth; her eyes grew wide as she saw the person who called her.

It was Edward; sitting by the kitchen table with an innocent look on his face, like nothing was wrong. His expression changed when he saw Winry's reaction. "What is it, Winry?"

Winry rushed over to the kitchen table. She banged her hands on the oak wood making Edward jump. "Where were you?!"

Edward leaned back in his chair shocked by the sudden outburst. "I've been here. What do you mean?"

Winry shook her head. "No! You disappeared for over a year! And Al joined the military to find you! And… And…" Her breathing became shaky and tears welded up in her eyes.

Edward stood from his chair with his hands out. "No, Winry. Al and I have been right here since Al got his body back." His voice was soft to help her calm down. "Neither of us is in the military and both of us got new jobs in town, remember? That must have been a bad dream."

Bad dream? Just a bad dream? Could she have dreamt a year of fear and worry? Winry took long breaths to slow down her racing heart. She wiped the tears away and smiled as she examined Edward. He grew taller, clearly more mature, and he was wearing more grown up clothes then his favorite red coat. "Right, a bad dream,"

Winry repeated the words in her head so she would believe them. Maybe it wasn't real. Edward was standing right in front of her, happy and alive. He weakly smiled at her, but he still looked guilty. A slight smell of apples and cinnamon was in the kitchen, but there was no sign of a pie anywhere. Winry noticed the pie pan on top of the small mountain of dishes. "Ed, where's the pie?"

Edward froze in fear, "You didn't make a pie recently."

A weak lie, Winry remembered that she made one last night. She pulled her wrench from the band of her pants and held it up for Edward to see. "Where's the pie, Edward?"

Edward took a step back. "Why do you look so happy to threaten me?"

 _Because I missed you, idiot._ Winry couldn't help smiling. This is one of her favorite things to do with him. Everything will be okay from now on, right?

* * *

A loud thump from the other room woke Winry from her sunny dream. She immediately realized that _that_ was the dream. Edward Elric is not in the kitchen gobbling up one of her homemade apple pie. No one had seen him for months.

Her heart started to tighten in her chest. She would do anything to go back to that dream where he was okay, but that wasn't reality. She did everything to keep herself from crying. Alphonse was only down the hall and she did not want to wake him up for this.

The bedroom door slowly opened and a dim light seeped into the room. Then the door rapidly closed, but did not leave a loud slam. It was unlike Al to sneak into her room at night. She sat up to ask what's wrong. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw long gold bangs.

Winry scooted to the side of her bed and cautiously stood to her feet. The intruder was creeping to the window in the room. He did not notice Winry in the shadow of the moonlight until she whispered, "Edward?"

The homunculus turned his attention to Winry. It was already frightened because of his abduction. The blond girl did not look like a threat, but neither did the last guy and he nearly killed him. The homunculus cautiously backed away. He knew he ruined his opportunity of escape.

Winry couldn't believe this is happening. That has to be Edward. No one else has his hair color or his eyes, but he is different. It wasn't the tattoos. He looked terrified of her.

The bedroom door opened again, much faster this time. Before the homunculus could respond, it was stroke in the head by a cast iron skillet. Winry felt nauseous as she watched the blond homunculus fall to the floor. Alphonse stood over him with the skillet. He quickly lifted Edward over his shoulders and harshly said, "I can explain later, but I have to tie him down before he wakes up again."

Alphonse rushed out of Winry's bedroom and into his own. He tossed the homunculus on Edward's bed, clapped and used the fabric in the mattress of make a cocoon around him. Then he anchored the mattress in the metal bed frame.

Winry was already in the bedroom, watching him. She did not know what was going on. She was still in shock that Alphonse hit Edward like that, now he is doing this to him. She couldn't take it anymore, "Al, what's going on?"

The homunculus blinked his eyes open. His eyes went wide when he realized he was bonded. It wailed again, louder this time. He was trying to release itself. The whole bed jolted in every direction and loud scratches was forming on the hardwood floor.

The wailing made Winry's ears bleed and her breathing was thinning every second. She stepped forward to the bed, hoping she could calm him down. Alphonse stretched his arm in front of her, forcing her to stop. He briefly said, "Don't,"

Several minutes went by before the wailing stopped. Al needed to make sure the homunculus couldn't get away from him. He lowered his arm and sighed, relieved. The homunculus stared into space, exhausted from screaming. Winry turned swiftly and darted out of the room. She routinely made her way to the kitchen.

Winry picked up her beloved apple pie; she really did make one last night. A shadow hid her face when she cut a slice and centered it on a plate. She bent down to open a cabinet underneath the sink to grab a container of bug poison. Winry stopped to look at it. It was a white, tasteless powder. It would look harmless on top of the slice of pie.

Her wrist was grabbed and pulled behind her back. Alphonse snatched the poison from her and darkly said, "Don't do it, Winry. That's Edward."

Winry shook her head with a few escaped tears on her cheeks, "No, that thing is a monster."

"He's still my brother," Al argued. He lowered his head in shame "I think he doesn't remember anything and I already tried to kill him so he won't trust me."

Winry was gasped; she momentarily forgot how to exhale. She couldn't imagine Alphonse hurting anyone or anything. Al dropped the poison and picked up the plate. He continued on, "Give him this and you'll see. That's Edward."

Alphonse shoved the plate of pie in her hand. Winry looked at the pie; it was an ordinary pie, her pie. How could that help? She turned around and headed upstairs without arguing. Al followed closely behind her. Winry paused hesitantly at the doorway of the bedroom. Al only handed her a spoon and beckoned her to go in. She walked into the room and carefully approached the bed. The homunculus watched her as she came closer.

"I…" Winry could hardly talk, "I thought you would like this." She held up the pie, so the homunculus could see.

Winry used the spoon to scoop up a small piece. She slowly moved it to Ed's face. An intoxicating scent of apples and cinnamon filled the homunculus's head. He became curious and opened his mouth submissively. Winry was able to slide the spoonful into his mouth easily. Winry and Al watched in disbelief as the homunculus chewed and swallowed the pie.

It gave Winry a pleading look. She snapped out of her daze to feed the homunculus the rest of the apple pie. The homunculus liked the pie and his face softened with the taste in its mouth. Winry swore she saw a faint smile on its face. Winry stared at the floor as she walked to Alphonse. She shamefully admitted to him, "You're right. That's Edward."


	3. Chapter 3

**Warning: When you think you are at the saddest part of the chapter, it'll get worse…**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

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 **Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

The confused homunculus was trying to figure out his situation. He kept scolding himself for wondering away from his older brother. His brother always warned him how dangerous that was. Whenever he was in danger, he would scream and his brother would come and kill his attacker. That did not work this time, he must have been too far away for his brother to hear him.

That is not why the homunculus laid trapped in a mattress puzzled; it is because of his captors. He was told that he would be tortured or dissected if he was abducted, but all they did was knock him unconscious a few times and feed him a slice of pie. His own family did far worse to him, but he still misses them. The homunculus felt very uncomfortable with all of the attention the captors give him. Both of them twitch whenever he looks at them. On top of all of that, the two keep calling him the wrong name. Maybe, they think he is someone else and this is a misunderstanding.

The blond homunculus considered the idea to tell his captors his real name. Would they let him or only make them mad? Of course, one of the captors noticed his internal conflict. The blond girl moved to the side of the bed and asked sweetly, "Is something wrong, Edward?"

A grudged sound escaped the homunculus. She called him the wrong name again. The girl inhaled nervously and beckoned the other guy to come closer. "It's okay. You can tell us." She reassured him.

The homunculus glanced up at their faces; they were full of hope and worry. They should let him go and try to find Edward. The homunculus breathed in to steady his voice, "My name is Pride."

Pride watched their reactions cautiously. He instantly regretted saying anything. The girl grabbed her chest as if someone had stabbed her. The guy made the same face when he first attacked him; he was enraged in seconds. Pride never felt so helpless. The blond man snatched a handful of the bed sheet and stuffed it in the homunculus's mouth. He growled loudly his next words, "I don't care what name they gave you! You're Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist!"

Pride would do anything to escape his hard glare. All he could do was squirm in the cocoon that bonded him. The guy made another pained expression, "What can I do to make you remember?"

Pride shrank into the mattress as much as he can. The guy was hovering over him, staring holes into him. The blond man desperately wanted an answer, but Pride could not give him one. He never heard of that name before. It did not make sense to him; he wasn't made of metal.

The blond guy inhaled sharply to yell again. He lost his breathe when the blond girl pulled him into a hug. The guy breathed in and out, still watching the homunculus. The hard inhales became more rapid; he sunk his head in the girl's shoulder and let out a loud sob. The blond girl embraced him and silently led him out of the room.

Pride was stunned by his reaction. He was slightly relieved that could not speak, because there is nothing he could say to them. They wanted Edward Elric, not him. The blond man was too experienced for him and he could not defeat him in a one-on-one match. The only thing he could do was slip away from them.

The homunculus spat out the cloth in his mouth and thought over his possibilities. This is the first time that they left him alone in hours. It is near dawn and the night sky was brightening up which is bad for him. His hair could easily be spotted in the light and he cannot disguise himself, like his brother could. On the other hand, humans need to sleep. All he had to do was wait a few hours and stealthy slip away.

After an hour or two of weakening the cocoon, Pride knew he could get free. Occasionally, one of the blonds would check on him, but that have not happened for a while now. They must have fallen asleep in another room in the house; they're only human after all. A rush of relief and freedom washed over Pride as he sat up on the mattress. Now, all he has to do is leave.

Pride shifted his body to the edge of the bed, ready to get up, suddenly he froze in place. On the other side of the room sat a massive suit of armor. There were glowing red orbs in the eye sockets. At first glance, the armor looked very intimidating. The suit of armor looked up at Pride, making a metallic clicking sound as it did, and said in a childlike voice, "Brother, you're up."

Pride did not respond to the armor, because it was not there. It was his imagination again. He would see the armor occasionally when he traveled, but in this town, it appeared more frequently. The armor popped up from his seat and walked over to the bed. It seemed taller every time Pride imagined it. "Come on, Brother, breakfast should be ready by now," the armor headed to the bedroom door and evaporated before it reached the door.

The homunculus watched the armor every closely. He was not sure what to think of it by now. It is very improbable to have a suit of armor as a brother, but it obviously knew him and anything is possible. Still, following the armor got him in this situation in the first place. The armor led him to the remains of the house and to the guy that attacked him.

Pride turned to the window in the bedroom and back to the bedroom door. He could escape right now and never come back or he could follow the armor again. He knows what would happen if he escapes, he'll return to his family and be punished for wondering off. Pride shuddered at that thought then turned to the bedroom door again. The armor knows something about him; things he don't know and his family refuse to tell him.

"Brother!" He heard the armor calling for him.

Pride clutched his fists as he made his final decision. He quietly rose from the bed and quickly headed to the bedroom door. After a quick check down the hallway, he swiftly headed to the stairs and made his way to the first floor. Pride needed to do a quick sweep of the house to see if the armor appears again, then he could leave.

The homunculus was taken aback by what he saw next. The suit of armor was everywhere; one was sitting on the couch reading a book, one was sitting in the corner holding a cat, one was in wooden box with its head sticking out. There were too many to count, but they were all the same suit of armor.

Pride did not know what to do. He headed to a different room of the house with all the armors trying to get his attention when he walked past them. He found himself in the kitchen and there were a few armors in there too.

"Brother, you didn't drink your milk."

"That pie was for everyone."

"Help Winry with the dishes, Brother"

They were all talking at once. The homunculus could barely make out what they were saying. This only confused him further. This is the first time that this happened. Why are there so many at once? What made this place so special? Who's Winry?

"Shit! Edward!" an angry voice rang over all of the other voices.

Crap, the homunculus had a sinking feeling in his chest. He was a sitting duck waiting to be captured. Pride glanced around the kitchen and spotted a door. He sprinted through it and nearly fell down a staircase. He went to the basement, not outside; he's trapped now. Pride heard loud footsteps behind and he jumped from the staircase. Next thing he knew, he was hiding underneath the stairs.

Pride barely had time to feel accomplished for his fast thinking. The door swung open and a circle of light started to scan the basement. The homunculus could see the guy through the cracks of the stairs. The blond man appeared to be extremely stressed; he did not look like he got much sleep at all. He scanned every inch of the basement several times with a flashlight. If he had looked down, he would have found his target.

A glimpse of metal caught Pride's attention. He could have sworn he saw the armor once more. It was different than the others. It wasn't transparent, and the light reflected off of it. Pride realized that was it, the actual armor. Pride grew impatient waiting for the man to go away. He needed to talk to the armor.

The man finally turned off the flashlight and left the basement. Pride immediately left his hiding spot to go over to the suit of armor. It was the same one alright; it had the same symbols on the shoulders like the ghost armor and it was enormous. Pride thought something was wrong. It wasn't moving; the armor stood there like a statue.

Pride slowly reached for the armor's hand, watching for any movement. It took both of Pride's hands to grasp one of the armor's hands. Pride pulled the hand towards him; he heard a familiar clicking sound. He gently shook the armor's arm trying to get a reaction from it, nothing happened.

The homunculus slouched where he stood. He started to regret ever listening to his imagination. It was just a normal suit of armor after all. Without realizing it, Pride pulled on the arm again causing it to tip over. The armor fell on right on top of the homunculus, and the chest plate crushed Pride's ribs.

Pride struggled to move. The homunculus had to wait a few minutes for his ribs to heal before he had the strength to get the armor off of him. He was still in pain as he positioned the armor to sit on the floor. Pride noticed that the head of the armor was missing, then images of the headless armor still being able to move and talk flooded his head. He remembered that when he put the head back on, glowing red orbs formed in his eye sockets.

Pride searched for the detached metal head. He reached for it without taking a step away from the armor. Pride held it carefully in both hands and gently placed it back, nothing happened. Pride deflated again, he removed the head. This time he noticed a red circle in the back of the armor. Was that important? He glanced at the head again and placed the head back in place, still nothing happened.

A muffled sound came from behind him. Pride glanced over his shoulder to see his two blond captors watching him. They looked very distraught; they were shivering, huge tears were running down cheeks and they were holding each other up. It did not matter to the homunculus; he did not want to be in captivity anymore. The blond guy held his hands up in surrender, "If you want, I can wake the armor for you. There's…" His voice broke, "There's a trick to it."

The offer shocked Pride; that was very considerate for him. Pride looked back at the lifeless armor and to the blond man. He would be indebted to him for waking up the armor; he wanted to talk to it for months. The homunculus did not respond to the blond man, he simply stepped to the armor's side. He still had his hand on the armor's shoulder.

The man let go of the girl. She had to readjust her weight to stand by herself. He slowly walked to the homunculus and the empty armor with the homunculus observing every move he made. Suddenly, a loud clap broke the awkward silence and the guy slapped the armor, then he rushed back to embrace the blond girl. _Was that it? I could have done that,_ the homunculus thought.

Pride started to think that he was lied to. He flinched when he saw the armor's limbs started to move. Pride sucked in air to contain his excitement and nearly skipped to front of the armor. The glowing red orbs were in place and the armor did not need help to get on its knees. It stopped to stare at the homunculus in front of it. Even on his knees, Pride was a foot shorter than the armor.

Pride lost his words; too many questions came to him at once. He decided to start with the oldest and simplest one. The homunculus asked the armor, "Am I your brother?"

A slight gasp echoed in the armor. The armor nodded and replied, "Yes, you are. I've missed you, Brother."

A blanket of emotions wrapped around Pride. He was thrilled to have finally found his armor brother, and then he became very guilty. The armor could see Pride's dismay on his face; he reached out to touch him. "I don't remember your name." Pride unexpectedly confessed. He forced a fake smile, "I'm a bad brother."

A low growl echoed in the armor. It quickly made a fist and hit the homunculus on the top of the head. Pride grabbed his head in disbelief and murmured, "Ow."

"Don't you ever say that again! You're the best big brother in the world!," the armor stared down the small homunculus.

Pride stared back at the suit of armor, puzzled. His hand still on his head. How could he say that after admitting something like that? "I am?" that is all the homunculus could say.

"Yes, you are." The armor repeated his words. "Please brother, promise you won't leave me again, please."

Pride thought that was fair. "I promise."

The armor snatched Pride's arm and pulled him into a hug. Pride wrapped his arms around the neck of the armor.

* * *

Alphonse and Winry stood on the other side of the room watching the heart wrenching scene. Alphonse ducked his head and whispered to Winry, "It's a start."

* * *

 **A/N: It's finally done! Oh My ***********. That was hard to write! You deserve a cookie for reading it all the way through. It was WAY longer then I first anticipated.**

 **Thanks for all of the support. I do notice every new follower and whenever someone favors this story. I appreciate every single one of you. Tell me what you think and be honest I can take it. I'll go cry now.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.**

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

Alphonse Elric had complications with his body. He couldn't feel it. Al swears every time he moved his bones would crack. Also, he could only see out of two small holes, making it difficult to see his surroundings. For the millionth time today, he had to remind himself that he was back in the old suit of armor.

Like last time, Al did not have a choice. This was for his big brother. This is the first step to recover the Fullmetal Alchemist. Al had to remind himself that as he watched the blond homunculus, Pride.

"Brother," his quiet voice was similar to Edward's. "Why are the two blond captors keeping us here?"

The homunculus was confused and scared, and he had every right to be. Alphonse and Winry are holding him hostage and tried to kill him. Al had to act like a different person from his human form. The homunculus wanted his armor brother, not the guy who attacked him. Al and the armor had to be two separate beings.

Al had to comfort the homunculus, "It will be okay, Brother. They won't hurt you. I won't let them."

Pride stared at the armor with gratitude. Al could still see the fear in his eyes. What have the homunculi done to his brother? He is so fragile and timid. Pride is a shell of Fullmetal.

Pride looked down at his fidgeting hands, "I wish I could protect you too, Brother. But, my other brother says I'm useless."

Al had to keep his anger under control. Pride talks about the other homunculi as if they are his family. He wants to punch him and yell that he is his ONLY brother. Nothing positive would come from that. The armor is the only person in the house Pride trusts. He'll run away if the armor frightened him.

Al had another approach, "He doesn't sound very nice. You're not useless. I bet you're great at a lot of things."

Al saw Pride's reaction through the eye sockets. He eyes grew wide like a shy toddler. Pride was not use to all of the praise Al's giving him. Pride shook his head, "I'm not a good fighter. I can't hurt anything with my scythe. It's too heavy."

An idea popped in the armor's head. "Would it be nice if your blade was attached to your arm?"

Pride did not comprehend that. The armor waved his hand, "Try imagining that. It would be a lot easier to fight with then a big, heavy scythe."

Still baffled, Pride examined his right arm. Al gleefully watched Pride start to slash imaginary things with his arm. The homunculus smiled at his imaginative brother and admitted, "That would be great."

The homunculus and the armor sat on opposite sides of the room, facing each other. Pride kept the armor close ever since Alphonse first transferred his soul into it that morning. Since then they talked like ordinary brothers. The homunculus told his secrets and opinions for hours.

Alphonse easily lost track of time. The sun is almost done setting. Suddenly, the armor started to shake violently. The homunculus's eyes widened with fear. He had no idea that this is an inevitable event. Al tried to console him, "Its okay, Brother. I am falling asleep."

Pride did not believe the weak lie. He rushed over the armor, traumatized. Pride made the trembling armor look up at him. The homunculus was panicking, "Brother, what do you mean? You don't look okay."

There was not much time to explain without revealing himself. Falling asleep was the best excuse he could think of. Al watched Pride's distressed face as his eyesight started to fade. He heard one more helpless, Brother, before his consciousness was pulled from the armor.

* * *

The next thing Alphonse saw was beige bed sheets. He checked his hands to make sure that he is in his human body. Al made himself fall asleep so he could focus solely on the homunculus. It was an added bonus that he received the best sleep he had all year. He feels completely relaxed now.

Al pushed himself to an upward position and sighed. Down the hall, he heard frantic clapping. He had to think of something to say to Pride. In a drowsy state, he headed out of the spare bedroom to the now dim lit hallway.

He found Winry outside of the sealed off bedroom. She was listening to the distraught homunculus crying for his fallen brother. "What are you going to say to him?" she stared at the door when she asked.

The homunculus had become the primary discussion in the Rockbell house. Both of them are relieved that Pride did not lay a finger on them. However, that could change without the influence of the armor brother.

"I don't know. I…" Al was wrapped with shame. "He's afraid of me, because I harmed him. Winry, he thought that we were going to torture him."

Winry nearly burst into tears. How could Edward think that? She barely kept her composure, "He doesn't know us."

Winry turned to Alphonse. Al can see all of the worry and sadness in her eyes. She had trouble sleeping too. The evidence was in the bags under her eyes. "We can't recreate years of lost memories. What are we going to do?"

"I'm trying. Edward is still in there."

Fear rose in Al when the metallic clicking and wailing came to a halt. It's nice that could hear himself think, but silence was worse than the noise. Without thinking, Al burst through the door and scanned the room. The suit of armor was tucked snug in a bed. Alphonse is surprised that Pride was able to move the armor by himself. However, he's more concerned about Pride's whereabouts right now.

Alphonse calmed down when he saw movement. The homunculus was sitting on the floor behind the bed. He was holding his knees to his chest and he kept his head down. The homunculus is very aware that Al is in the room.

Alphonse thought of a dozen icebreaker phrases to say. Since he is not in the armor, he can't simply say brother. His eyes darted to the armor again. "I'm shocked that you were able to lift the armor by yourself."

Al did not get a response from Pride. He couldn't think of another topic, so he continued on, "Don't strain yourself. Next time, ask for help."

The homunculus blinked. Strangely, Alphonse was satisfied by that small reaction. He took another step closer, mindful of the space between him. "You don't have to stay stuffed in this room. You can stretch your legs and go downstairs."

"I don't want to leave my brother." Pride's voice was stern.

The homunculus doesn't know how much that hurt Alphonse. Pride treats Al as if he is an enemy. Only the armor saw the shy, nervous side of him. Al had to disguise his pain for the hundredth time today, "I know. On the other hand, you should let him sleep. I bet you wore him down today."

The homunculus blinked again; considering what Al just said. Pride doesn't know that the armor doesn't tire that easily. Pride finally looked up to face him. He kept his face as expressionless as he could.

Al did not move. He at that moment he saw his brother again. That's the face he made when he tried to hide his emotions in battle. Al did not want to provoke or startle the homunculus with sudden movements.

"I want to stay with my brother." Pride reinstated.

Alphonse gave up, "I understand."

Pride did not accept any type of affection or comfort from Al or Winry. He even refused to eat any more apple pie. A new wall of distrust formed when he found the armor in the basement. Alphonse couldn't force the homunculus to interact with him.

Al paced to the bedroom's exit with his eye on Pride. He nearly forgot that Winry was still in the doorway. Al had closed the door halfway closed when Winry suddenly grabbed his arm trembling and hid behind him. Al glanced over his shoulder at her. She whispered, "Look."

Al stopped when he realized Pride was walking. He kept his head down avoiding eye contact with the two. He slowly made his way to the bed with the armor in it. The homunculus dropped to the bed and curled up next to the armor. His gold hair hid his face. Al felt another sharp stab in his chest. It was almost like old times.

He finally closed the bedroom door and sealed the room with alchemy. The only way Pride could leave was through a heavily reinforced wall. Alphonse felt like his heart was being squeezed in his chest. He leaned on the closed door and started to sob. He whined through the sobbing, "This is my fault. This is all my fault. I abandoned him when he needed me."

In response, Winry started to rub his back. She used her sweetest voice, "You can't blame yourself, Al."

"Why couldn't it been me? Edward doesn't deserve this. Why him?" Al was babbling by now.

Winry applied more force in her back rub. She used her free hand to tug on Al's arm. "Come on, you need to eat and take it easy. He's not going anywhere."

Winry's right. He is not going to let Edward out if his sight. Even now, Al is feeling anxious that he doesn't see him at that very moment. It didn't matter if he was in his human body or the armor; as long as he can see him. He is starting to regret not waking the armor while he had the chance.

Al was too focused on Edward to take care of himself. His appetite vanished when he dragged the homunculus into the house. The only reason he was able to sleep was because the armor babysat Pride for him. His human body was starting to react from the neglect. Alphonse took a few deep breathes and replied, "You're right, Winry."

The two headed downstairs to eat a homemade dinner that Winry prepared in advance. It was easy for Al to forget about his own basic bodily needs. Basically, he turned into Edward; his primary concern is his brother and everything else, including himself, is secondary.

"He's very quiet." Winry whispered into her spoon.

"He doesn't have anyone to talk to."

"Will he talk to us?"

"Not without the armor."

Al sighed. He was getting tired of talking about the homunculus. But, changing the subject was nearly impossible. They were worried about Edward for so long and they finally found him. Well, most of him.

"You have to get some sleep, Win. You look exhausted."

Winry sighed this time. She took the hint. They finished their dinners in silence, because there was nothing else to talk about. After washing the dishes, they stealthy headed back upstairs. Without the constant chattering of the homunculus and armor, every step they made had an echo.

"I am going to stay out here." Al sat down in the hallway. The last time he took a nap Pride escaped. He doesn't want to go through the stress of chasing him around the house. Winry was too emotionally drained to argue with Al. She slipped into her bedroom without saying anything.

Al sat there for hours and dozed off without realizing it. When he snapped out of his sleep, he had aches all of his body; another reminder that he needs a bed to sleep. The morning sun seeped through the hallway window. It has been hours and still, not a peep from the homunculus.

Alphonse got up and stretched his muscles while watching the bedroom door. This was not what he expected. Pride have not tried to escape or made any fuss all night. If Pride was still Edward, he would have fought, yelled, and demanded his favorite foods every fifteen minutes. Pride is more tamed than Fullmetal. That must be the homunculi's fault.

Alphonse stumbled to the bedroom door and unsealed it. He opened the door to find the blond homunculus in the same position he last saw him in; curled up next to the lifeless armor. Al bent down to Pride's eye level to see if he was awake. Hidden under the long gold bangs was a blank, dead stare. Pride completely ignored Al's existence.

Alphonse straightened up. The homunculus is not going to connect to him and Al doesn't want to try. He did have something to say, "I'm sorry for assaulting you last night. I overreacted. I don't care if you accept my apology. I want you to know that I regret it."

With his words lingering in the air, Al clapped and slapped the armor. He quickly left the bedroom; then sealed the homunculus and the armor in it once more. Alphonse had to break through Pride's walls the old-fashioned way. He hopes the apology was a start.

* * *

Inside the locked bedroom, the homunculus was trying to wrap his head around Al's apology. Pride became puzzled trying to figure out his motives behind it. The armor faked a yawn and greeted Pride, "Morning, Brother."

The homunculus sat up on the bed. It was the first time moved in hours. He didn't have a choice; he was guarding his sleeping brother. It was the least he could do. Pride is ashamed that he couldn't wake himself. What kind of big brother is he?

"Are you okay, Brother?" the armor asked concerned.

Pride looked at the armor. He still can't believe that he found him. "I'm fine. Just thinking about something,"

"You can tell me." The armor retorted. This was the only way Al can know what in Pride's head.

Pride smiled weakly at the armor, "I know I can. But, I'm more concerned about you. Don't scare me like that again."

The armor reached to touch Pride's shoulder. "I should have told about that earlier. I was so excited to see you again that I forgot."

Pride stared down at the armor. Sometimes, he doesn't know how to respond to his brother. The homunculus is happy to be in a contained space with him. He'll choose his armor brother over his other brother any day.

* * *

 **A/N: I humbly apologize for any tears I may have caused. I feel sorry for the characters, too. This is a hard story. Thanks for sticking with it.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Redo. I needed to revise this chapter. I added some more dialogue and a new ending.**

 **Actually, the "new" ending is the original ending. When I first wrote the chapter I decided to leave that part out, because it was pushing the T rating, but I had to put it back in. I'll explain why later.**

 ** _A. Leaf_**

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

Automail was the last thing Winry wanted to work on. All she wanted to do was go comfort Edward and make him feel welcomed in her home. Alphonse had forbid her from going anywhere near him, because he is too dangerous. Her only argument was Pride never touched the armor. Al countered that very quickly by saying that Pride trusts the armor. It's the truth, but it hurts to hear it. She knows the truth hurts Al too.

To try to keep her mind at ease, Winry routinely checked the maintenance on her automail equipment. Alphonse was in the basement with her, but his mind was somewhere else. He was only there to protect her just in case Pride goes on a rampage from being contained for so long. He sits there with his eyes closed trying to concentrate on the homunculus.

Automail is the only distraction she has right now.

* * *

Pride was dazed for a moment. He was trying to figure out all of the questions he had for his armor brother. A name popped up from his memory. Questions like these usually go unanswered, but armor brother was different from his other brother.

He turned to the armor and asked, "Brother, who's Winry?"

The armor tensed up in response. His tone of voice became a lot more serious and curious, "How do you know that name?"

Pride shrugged off the change in tone, "You said that name once in a memory. It's okay if you don't remember."

The armor shook his head, "No, I know who that is."

Al saw the homunculus perked up, intrigued, and ready for the answer. Al had to take this cautiously, "Promise me you will not over react."

Pride did not know why he had to promise that, but if it was all he had to do, he promptly agreed to it.

* * *

"Winry," Al's voice grabbed her attention. "He knows about you."

A chill ran down Winry's body and became nauseous. Lots of questions and scenarios were running in her head, but she couldn't ask Al at that moment. He was still probably talking to Pride about this very subject at that very second and he needed his concentration. "He remembered the armor saying your name once and I told him who you are. Now, he's asking questions about us."

Winry glanced up at the ceiling as if she could see the homunculus interrogating the suit of armor. What on Earth could he be thinking right now? "I just told them that you were a longtime friend and asked him if he could remember you."

Sometimes, Winry would eavesdrop on the friendly conversations between the homunculus and the armor. It was comforting to hear them getting along so well. Right now, she is paralyzed with fear, because going in anywhere near the homunculus now maybe a life or death situation.

Alphonse gasped as his eyes widened with anxiety. Winry guessed what could was going to say next; it was written all over his face. Al's face was held a shock expression when he said, "He wants to talk to you."

Winry started shivering; Edward is still not himself and he doesn't know her. Pride could be furious at her for letting Al abduct him. She found a seat at the table to keep herself from collapsing to the ground. Winry gripped the edge of the table; thinking about everything that could go wrong and whispered, "Why?"

"He wants to know what is going on. He thought it was strange that you were treating so nicely and how I spared him earlier. He's finally realizing that our actions are not random and there is a reason behind them. But, he can't figure out why." Al did not want to have that conversation with Pride.

Winry wasn't excited about explaining themselves either, "Can't the armor tell him?"

Al shook his head, "Pride's convinced that the armor doesn't know us. He wants to hear the truth from us."

Al abruptly rose from his seat so fast that it made Winry jump. "He's getting mad. I have to get up there." He darted up the basement stairs.

Winry followed close behind him. While they were rushing to top floor, they could hear Pride's rants becoming louder. He was calling for them and banging on the floors and walls trying to summon them. The armor was not enough to calm him down this time.

Al told Winry to stay back as he broke the alchemical seal on the bedroom. He did not waste any time; he swung the door open, clapped, and trapped the homunculus to the floor in a wooden cannon. The homunculus struggled violently knowing that he couldn't escape that easily. This time, he had could fight with words. Pride shouted, "I'm NOT Edward Elric! My NAME is PRIDE!"

Winry stumbled to the room and watched the unfolding scene. Alphonse was trying to reason with the homunculus, but it was not working. Winry crept forward to look at him. Despite Pride's words, his ranting sounded just like Edward. She finally got close enough to see his hair, his eyes and his facial expressions. Winry didn't see a homunculus; she saw her friend.

Winry dropped to her knees by Pride's head, startling him and Al. She wasn't thinking, she was acting on instinct when she cupped his face and kissed him. The homunculus jerked his head away from her, but he was still bound to the floor. Winry cupped his head with her forearms and secured it by grabbing two handfuls of his hair. Then, she leaned in to deepen her kiss.

Alphonse was in shock. Winry was putting herself in a lot of danger. He tried yelling and shaking her off of Pride, but she was not budging. It's been over a minute now and he was getting desperate. He had to pull Winry's arms to release Pride's head, and then he had to drag her out of the room. Al secured the bedroom again and gawked at Winry.

Winry was in shock too. She could still feel his lips on hers; it was surprising warm and she could feel his face heating up under her embrace. If only she could have seen his flushed face before Al pulled her away from Ed. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!" Al snapped her out of the daydream.

Winry focused on Al's petrified face, "WHY DID YOU KISS HIM?!"

Suddenly, he turned to the bedroom door and back to her. He gestured to move to the end of the hall. "We can't stay here," he warned her.

Winry started to go to the stairs but she could not help asking why. Al had his eyes closed; he was still talking to the homunculus as the suit of armor. Alphonse and Winry found themselves in the living room. Winry watched Al pace back and forth around the room with his eyes still closed. His face showed that he was getting frustrated with the homunculus.

"He won't stop talking about you, Winry. This isn't good. He wants to talk to you and he's scheming to find a way to." Al was trembling when he said that.

Winry was scared too. When a homunculus wants something, they will not stop until it gets it. Alphonse knows this firsthand. It's a good thing that he has the armor, because Pride will ask him if a new scheme is a good idea. But, after two hours of rejecting every scheme, Pride eventually decided that he could see Winry by himself and won't need his brother's help.

Alphonse wouldn't let Winry go upstairs anymore. All she could do was listen Al tell her all of the different ways Pride is trying to lure her into the bedroom again. Some of them were asking for her assistance, lying about being hurt, or asking for another piece of her pie. It was sweet in a sadistic way, all of the different things Pride would come up with. When that information stopped, it made both of them uneasy. All they could do is sit and wait.

Winry tried her best to have Al calm down, but she was just as nervous as he was. She showed her best poker face every time she asked him to relax or to sit down. If Al paid any attention to her, he would notice that her hands were trembling in her lap and she will not move from her spot on the couch without his supervision.

Nevertheless, it was dawn again and the soul transfer will not last very long now. Winry knew the time had come when Al shot up terrified. He started shaking his head rapidly and frantically repeating the word, no. Al hated not being able to see Pride and the events of today only intensified his anxiety. He was glancing at the stairs and Winry trying to make a hard conscious decision.

Winry couldn't see him like that. She answered his question for him when she told him to go. Al teared up and said, "I'll be right back."

Winry watched her only protection dart up the stairs. She took a deep breath to calming her racing heart and started counting to pass the time. _One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…_

"Shit! SHIT!" Winry jumped in her seat.

Alphonse was shaking so much that he tripped down the stairs. He stumbled over to Winry, sunk his head in her lap and start sobbing. "He's out. Pride is not in the room. I'm so sorry that I brought him here. He wants you. I swear he won't touch you. I can't lose you too. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Patted Al's head and expected his apology. He doesn't know that she blames herself for this. If she hadn't forced Pride to kiss her, she would not be his new person of interest and he wouldn't have left the armor's side. Hot tears started rolling down her cheeks. She didn't feel safe anymore and she was looking for Pride to pop out nowhere.

"It's okay, Al" She did her best to comfort the teenager, "It's going to be okay."

Al snapped his head up and said, "No, this can't get any worse. He's after you."

"We don't know that."

Al pointed to the bedroom, "He won't leave the armor; it's tucked into a bed. He's smarter than I thought and taking us for suckers. Pride was able to escape so easily and efficiently and it only took him few seconds." Al started to pace back and forth again.

He was going to drive himself insane. The stress was already eating her alive. Al shook his head again and said, "You need to get out of here! Now!"

WInry stared at him in disbelief, "Where will we go, Al? If Pride is really after me, he would follow me wherever I go."

Alphonse stared at her hard. He was not in the right mind to argue with her; all he was thinking about surviving anyway they can. Winry had to approach this from another angle, "Al, he is in the house. We can find him, Al, this house is not big"

Her encouraging words were empty, but it got through to Al. Winry knew all he wants is to keep an eye on Edward. Al's eyes started to dart around the room. "Fine, we'll look for Edward."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was past midnight. Al checked every corner of the house at least three times; Pride vanished into thin air. They were both exhausted from looking and worrying, but Al did not want to sleep. The two compromised by having them sleep in the same bed together. One of them could stay up to watch out for the missing homunculus.

That system didn't last an hour. Winry couldn't fight the slumber anymore. She couldn't help thinking that this was all of her fault. If she had stayed away from Pride, none of this would have happened. The last thing she said before she fell asleep was "Please don't hurt me, Edward."

* * *

A shift in the temperature was pulling Winry out of her deep sleep. She tried to warm herself by blindly searching for the covers. She realized that her movement was very limited because of two warm supports that were cradling her body and a heated wall.

With her conscious slowly returning to her, Winry was starting to realize that she wasn't in a bed. It dawned on her what was happening; her heart sank to her stomach, she was quivering and gasping for air. It took all of her strength to peak through her eyelids, thus only confirmed her worst fear. She saw the colors; black, red, and gold. It was Pride and he was holding her in his arms.

Winry tried squirm out of the embrace, but he's too strong. He simply tightened his grip of her. She tried to find her voice to call for Alphonse, but her voice was too soft and shaky. A gloved hand covered her mouth before she could pronounce a word. Knowing she's in the homunculus's mercy, tears welded in her eyes.

The homunculus checked over his shoulder to see if he was being followed. They were nearly halfway down the hall when Winry woke up. With her secured in his grasp, he casually made his way to the stairs. He paused to check behind his shoulder one last time before he flew down the stairs. Then, he easily carried Winry through the front door onto the porch. Being a homunculus did benefit him in some ways.

Winry's mind and heart was beating against her ribcage. She knows that Pride could feel her trembling. Despite all of the questions that were running through her head, all she wanted to know is what he is thinking right now.

The homunculus slowly dropped to his knees. He carefully released the bottom half to the cement floor. He could feel her tears damping his glove. Pride kept his voice low and tried to console her, "Don't cry."

Winry held her breathe as she stared wide eyed at the homunculus. The only movement from entire body came from rapidly beating heart. To her relief, there was sympathy in Pride's eyes. He continued, "You're safe now. You can leave before he wakes up."

Winry finally realized what Pride was trying to do. The thought only intensified her sobbing and trembling. She pulled herself into his chest and sobbed uncontrollably; she was so relieved. Pride did not push Winry away; he wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her closer to him.

Deep inside the house, Winry heard a hysterical voice calling her name repetitively. Alphonse was already up and was desperately trying to find her. Pride gave her one last chance for her to escape, but she didn't move. As soon as Al heard her sobbing, he rushed to the source.

Winry saw Al's face and waved her hands to get his attention. "Al, A-Al, Pride was trying to help me."

Alphonse had a cast iron skillet raised and ready to strike the homunculus. The skillet started to twitch and he slowly lowered it. He was still agitated since Winry first kissed the homunculus that very morning. Winry had to restore his mind. She held her hands up and said, "Al, everything's fine. I'm not in danger."

But, Winry couldn't influence the homunculus so easily. Al and Pride stared each other down. Winry glanced back and forth between two. She tried to wiggle away from the homunculus's grip and said, "You can let me go now."

Winry was only able to move a few inches away before she hit a snag, Pride's arms. Al narrowed his eyes at the homunculus and demanded, "Let her go."

The homunculus tightened his grip in response; completely ignoring Al's command. Winry had no choice but to lay her head on the homunculus's chest. The next event was inevitable. Al could not control his rage anymore and the homunculus was unconscious in mere seconds.

"AL!" Winry snapped him back to reality.

Alphonse stared at her until his breathing evened out. "Why did you kiss him?"

Winry couldn't produce an answer to that question all day, but now she finally had one, "Because he's Edward."

* * *

"You didn't have to hit him. We could have talked that through." Winry really did not like Al's temper lately.

Pride was only trying to help. He didn't know any better. Al, on the other hand, was completely insulted by the accusation. Did Pride think that he kidnaps random people and holds them hostage for his own twisted needs? Al sighed at the thought.

Pride is lucky that he is placing him back in his bedroom instead of locking him in a concrete cell.

Alphonse and WInry had a long day searching for the homunculus. Al is happy and relieved that where he belongs, in a bed next to the armor, in an alchemical sealed room. A huge weight was lifted off both of their shoulders and they feel relaxed now.

Al could finally smile for the first time in hours. Winry could see the pleased feeling on his face, but she knew that they can't keep the charade up now. Pride knows too much, "Al, we have to talk to him."

Al nodded without looking at her. The stunt Pride pulled today cannot happen again. "We'll talk to him tomorrow morning, but right now, I'm exhausted."

With the adrenaline fading away, Winry instantly felt drained too. Knowing that this finally day is over is a wonderful feeling, "Okay."

Al and Winry went to separate beds this time. With Pride locked in his room, there was no need to worry. Winry looked over to Al as he settled in the bed and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Al simply repeated her greeting.

* * *

The blonde engineer felt a presence in her deep sleep. Her dream abruptly ended and she found herself in an empty void. She had a strange sensation that something was crawling beside her. That pulled her from the deep slumber faster. The crawling stopped as her upper body and she felt an overwhelming stare. Winry realized what was happening and snapped her eyes open wide.

She started gasping for air and shivering. The mattress she was sleeping on shifted as if other than someone else was in her bed. With wide eyes, she carefully turned around to investigate. She found Pride's grinning face hovering over her head. Pride's grin grew ear to ear when he saw Winry looking at him.

Winry had trouble breathing. She used all of her strength to call for Alphonse. As soon as the desperate yelp escaped her, a gloved hand covered her mouth for the second time that night.

Winry was panicking now. She tried to remove Pride's hand and spring up from the bed, but the homunculus would not let her. She started to whimper into his hand when she felt Pride pulling her closer to him. Fighting him was pointless, but she couldn't help herself. Both of them froze in place when a figure appeared in front of the bed.

Alphonse glared past Winry and straight to the homunculus. Pride remained silent. Alphonse kept his piercing glare when he made his threat, "One scratch and I will torture you for hours. Do you understand that?"

A blank face was his answer. After a minute of glaring at Pride, a loud yawn seeped out of Alphonse and he turned around to stumble back to his bed. Winry stared at Al's back in disbelief. She was finally able to leap from her bed to chase after him, but her pajamas were snagged by a something. Maybe a hook? Another option popped into her head. She gulped because she was too afraid to check. Please let it be a hook.

Al checked over his shoulder to find Winry scared to move or speak. Since he calmed down and had a chance to think, he figure out what was really going on. He walked over to Winry and whispered to the confused girl, "He has a crush on you."

Winry could feel her insides scrambling around in circles, "What?"

"You shouldn't have kissed him."

The hook started to pull her back towards the bed. She did her best to keep her composure. "Al," the plea was enough for a serious answer.

"If I knock him unconscious and lock him up again, he'll only wake up, break out, and come looking for you again. I can't guard you all night. I'm sorry, Winry. There's nothing I can do."

"But, he's…" She couldn't finish that sentence, because she lost her balance.

Al tried to reason with her, "He only wants to keep an eye on you, Winry."

Winry couldn't help thinking that he wanted more from her. Al continued, "Scream if you need anything."

"Al!" she needed help now.

Al sat on his bed which was on the other side of the room. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll be right here. Don't worry."

"You're going to let…." WInry jumped when she felt two hands grip her waist. This can't be happening. This can't be happening.

The hands snaked around her waist and bolstered up to Pride's lap. Winry sucked in her breathe and stiffened her whole body to contain herself. She could feel Edward's chest pressed against her back. His strong arms held her in place as his chin rested on her shoulder. Her blood filled her face turning it several shades of red.

Her mind checked out of her body for nearly ten seconds. It crashed into her head again when she felt a kiss on the side of her neck. Winry turned as much as she could to press a finger on the homunculus's lips. She tried to find her voice again, "P-Pr-Pride. I-I can't right now. I'm…"

She thought of the simplest excuse, "Too tired. I-I have to go to sleep, because I'm-I'm human."

Pride's eyes remained expressionless as he stared at her. He was nearly impossible to read; that was one trait that he did not get that from Edward. Winry started to wonder if Pride knew what she was talking about. Pride slightly parted his lips to swiftly lick Winry's index finger.

Winry widened in shock as all of air escaped her body. Her finger started to burn as if it was on fire. She frantically blew cool air on her finger and rubbing it on fabric to stop the burning feeling. Her healing techniques were interrupted when she felt an arm tilt her backwards.

Winry forgot about her numbed finger to reason with Edward. "H-Hey, P-Pride, I-I can tuck myself in."

Scrambling in his grasp has been proven to be meaningless. Winry was snugged underneath her bed covers in mere seconds. Pride crawled next to her, but on top of the sheets. He was facing Alphonse's bed who she guessed was only pretending to be asleep. She couldn't wait beat up Al with her wrench the tomorrow. This is mostly his fault.

Thinking about Al made Winry groan in anger which attracted Pride's attention. He turned around to see what was wrong. Winry closed her eyes and did her best to stop shaking. She never going to go asleep like this.

* * *

 **A/N: So this chapter wasn't a tear jerker. My original intention for this chapter was for Pride to warm up to Al and Winry. Last time, I did not do that and I left it in character limbo without realizing it.**

 **I hope you don't mind a little PDA. I admit that I am an EdWin shipper (even in this circumstance) and this is the start of a bizarre relationship. And as long this is a T rated story, the relationship will not go past kissing & cuddling. **

**I wonder if any have noticed by now that I switch the character's perspective every new chapter in a cycle. Next chapter is Pride's turn again.**

 ** _A._** ** _Leaf_**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's been forever since I updated this story. I can't shake the feeling that I have written myself into a huge dud. O well, this story is coming to an ending anyways. I hope you enjoyed it so far.**

 **If anyone is lost at the beginning of the chapter, it's because I changed the ending of chapter five. It's was a minor change, but this is just a reminder.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

It's been two days since the homunculus was first attacked by the unnamed blonde man. The sunrise marks the third day that he's been held here, somewhat against his will. He had a perfect opportunity to escape this place yesterday, but once again, he decided to stay and he cannot figure out why.

Pride knows that his other brother is furious with him. He's never been away from him for more than a few hours. With every passing hour, his brother's anger will grow. Honestly, the homunculus doesn't want to go back. His other brother is mean, bossy, and rude. Pride is also his brother's little punching bag whenever he's frustrated. Pride never did anything to anger him. Why is he so mean all the time?

His armor brother is a lot nicer to him and he has a valid reason to be mad at him. Pride doesn't know how they were separated or for how long; he tried apologizing to him, but the armor would only say that it wasn't his fault. His armor brother is weird. Whenever Pride asks about their past or his name, he brushes it off and says, "You'll remember, don't worry."

His armor brother may be the nicest person he knows. Despite his intimidating appearance, he's soft-spoken, nice and admired the homunculus as if he is the best brother in the world or the universe. Prides wishes he could remember his past-self. What did he do to earn that kind of praise?

His armor brother's footsteps could be heard over the rain outside. It could easily be mistaken for thunder. "Brother, what are you doing in here?"

The homunculus rose from his guarding post, the bed he shared with the sleeping girl. What was her name again?

The homunculus walked to his brother to explain, "I have to watch her, Brother."

"Why? You don't have to do that. I'm sure she will be fine."

His brother is nearly seven foot tall and probably weighs a ton. He may not have to defend himself before. Pride wondered if he would understand what he is trying to do, "Keep your voice low, I don't want to wake her or alert the blonde guy."

The armor shifted his head slightly to see Winry, if he remembers right, then he looked back to the homunculus, "do you like her?"

Pride could feel his cheeks heating up a little, but he didn't want his armor brother to feel like he has to compete with her. He shrugged and answered his brother in a low voice, "I don't know, Brother. I was told that I won't be able to feel any emotions. But, I feel like that I want to help her, that's all. I think she's being held here, too."

The armor gasped. It's odd; how could he breathe? The armor is an empty shell, but he can exhibits more emotions than the homunculus can identify or recognize. His brother dropped to the floor next to him. His metal body makes so much noise whenever he moves. Pride knows his other brother will be agitated with hearing metallic clicking so much.

The armor looked at him with his bright red eyes and stated, "Alright, if you insist, but why do you think that she is in danger?"

The homunculus stared down at the armor. He's taller only when the armor is sitting down, "Because, yesterday, he was really mad and yelling at her. She very frightened, too."

"Uh… Hmm," Sometimes the armor would fumble over what to say. He told Pride it was because he'll get a little shy when he talks to the world's best big brother.

The armor looked at the bed that Pride was still guarding. It only made him curious so he glanced over his shoulder at Winry, too. It looked like that she was still sleeping. She must be a very heavy sleeper. The armor called for him and Pride shifted his gaze back to the gigantic metal armor.

"Brother, are you mad at her for something she did?"

The homunculus was baffled, because that question came out of nowhere. It's the first time that his brother is asking on the behalf of someone else, including someone that he shouldn't know. Pride plopped to the floor in front of the bed. It didn't matter how much he trusts his armor brother, something about this situation is amiss.

"I'm not mad at her. It wasn't her fault that the blonde guy attacked me and kept me here. There wasn't much she could do. Why would I be mad at her?"

Pride was a little confused by his question. He doesn't have a temper, but maybe he used to. It's another reason why the homunculus wants to remember something about his past. He has no idea what his past personality was like.

"That's great to hear."

Another voice interrupted the private conversation. There was only one person it could have been. Pride turned around to see Winry's cerulean eyes. Something is oddly familiar about that color; o, it's the same color of the sky.

She was holding on to the bedsheets very tightly and was slightly trembling. Is she usually this easily frightened? Winry smiled wearily at the two visitors and greeted them, "Good morning you two."

"Morning," the armor responded to her very casually.

She barely noticed the humongous armor that could easily overshadow her and Pride. Her focus was squarely on the blonde homunculus that sat on the floor next to her bed. Pride tried to return her smile, "How do you feel?"

Her reaction to the simple question was very confusing. Winry was smiling brightly at him, but tears were welding in her eyes. Pride was stomped, he had no idea what she could be feeling or thinking to make that kind of reaction. He only asked how she was feeling.

Pride hesitated; he didn't mean to make her cry. He turned around completely and asked in a lenient tone, "What's wrong?"

The blonde girl wiped her tears away, reached for his right hand, clutched it, and replied with a smile, "It's nothing. I'm so happy right now."

Huh? But, she's crying. Humans are strange creatures. The homunculus watched Winry climbed out of her bed and into the spot right next to him. She didn't let go of his hand the entire time. Finally, she rested her head on his shoulder.

Pride didn't do anything to stop her. It was odd to let anyone this close to him, even his brother.

"I'm not being held here against my will, Pride. I live here." She squeezed his hand as she clarified for him.

Now that didn't make sense. The homunculus glanced at the armor brother who is very tense at that moment. The homunculus should have asked what's eating him. Well, it would explain why she didn't run yesterday, but there's one thing, "Why do you live with that guy?"

Winry chuckled under her breathe, "I've had worse."

"Worse than him?"

"Yeah, way worse,"

A metallic click grabbed Pride's attention, again. The armor was carefully watching Winry. Judging by the posture, his brother looked every concerned. He recognized the way his fingers slightly twitch, because he does that sometimes when his other brother is mad at him.

Winry suddenly shifted uncomfortably and stood up. The homunculus held onto her hand as she walked passed the two visitors. When she noticed it, she turned to him and sweetly said, "I have to go, but I'll be right back. I promise."

The homunculus was considering going with her. However, a quick kiss on his forehead made lose his grip and she slipped out of the room. The atmosphere changed since she left. It must have been coming from his brother.

"Brother, please don't hurt her, she's innocent." The armor stated boldly.

The homunculus shrugged, "I couldn't if I tried. I can't end another life, Brother."

He heard the armor sighed in relief. There is something that his brother is not telling him. The homunculus does not know how to start that conversation or what to ask. If he tries to ask him anything that is not in the right subject, he quickly changes it. Well, it's still better than what his other brother would do; he'll beat him.

"Brother, I just want to make sure that she is okay." Pride admitted to him. It was the reason for his actions yesterday.

"I know the feeling, Brother." The armor replied softly.

Pride tucked in his legs and hugged them. This house had a strange aura around it since he was first dragged into it. It may have been his presence that shifted the mood so dramatically, but he can't tell for sure. Either way, it's very clear that the people inside the house will not let him leave so easily.

He needed to remind himself to ask Winry about that. Before he knew it, Winry entered the room carrying a small bowl of fruit and a large red cloth. She glanced nervously at the armor and back to the homunculus.

"Uh, I have something for you, Pride."

The homunculus perked up at the thought. It may be his first gift that he ever received. His eyes immediately drawn to the red cloth; it may have been the brightest thing he ever seen. "What is it?"

Winry placed the fruit bowl down and held out the cloth. It was very obvious what it is now, "It's a coat, silly. I think it will look great on you."

Red is Pride's favorite color. She's pretty good at guessing. There is one thing, "But, I'm not allowed to wear red."

His armor brother quickly rose to his feet and asked heatedly, "Did your other brother forbid you from wearing red?"

The homunculus slowly nodded. The two people towered over him because he still sitting on the floor. He didn't like this angle. He watched as the armor grab the coat out of the girl's hand and offer it to him. "You shouldn't let him control things like that. It's just a coat."

Pride knew that outburst was more than just a red coat. His armor brother doesn't like him to mention his other brother. He judges him so harshly for everything he does. Pride assumed that his other brother's behavior is normal; mainly, because he doesn't know any better. However, dealing with his other brother made him a pushover.

"Okay," the homunculus weakly agreed without an argument.

Pride took the coat and quickly slid his arms through the long red sleeves. He did like the coat. They must have given it to him, because it was raining outside. It felt like it was made for him. When he looked up at the two, he noticed that Winry was crying again and the armor's posture suggested that he might be if he could.

Pride sighed heavily. It seems like everything that he does cause them a great deal of distress. It's just a coat.

"What's wrong? I like the coat," Pride tried to console them.

Winry smiled at him through her stream of tears again. "I had a feeling you would."

What does that mean? Pride weakly smiled at two. They're acting very strange and keeping secrets from him, but they're still better than his other family at this point. They never gave him anything but the clothes on his back and they hardly wanted to give him that.

* * *

Despite the chill of the rain outside, the three of them have been warming up to each other very quickly. It's been nearly an hour now. Something that Pride forgot that was humans have to eat every few hours and his armor brother hasn't mention food or any other things that humans do; other than sleep.

He has to be human, because he acts like one and have memories of being smaller. Pride wanders if used to be a smaller suit of armor.

"Um, brother, I have one more question for you." The armor gained the homunculus's attention again while Winry excused herself to go the restroom. Whatever that is, who knows?

"Sure, what is it?" Pride reassured his younger brother.

"Why were you standing in front of the remains of the house, where the blonde guy found you?" The armor kept a hard stare when he asked that.

That's a random question. His younger brother's questions usually are. Pride thought back to that night. The memory of fighting the blonde guy all the way to his captivity dominated his flashback, but his brother wanted to know what was he was doing beforehand. He tried to relive that night where he followed the armor from his imagination to the house. No, it wasn't it.

"I saw a burning house there and you were standing next to me as it burned down. Do you remember that day?"

The armor didn't respond right away. Pride thought that he might be falling asleep again. Then he answered with a pained voice, "Yes, I remember that night, Brother. Do you have any other memories about the house? You have to think really hard about it."

The homunculus wondered what made his brother so intrigued. Pride took another minute to try to remember anything else about the mysterious house, but he couldn't think of anything. He looked at his brother with a sorrowful look and said, "I'm sorry, Brother. The only thing that I can remember about the house was it being burned down."

The armor shot up from his seat like a bullet. He nearly shouted, "Well, we have to take you there, right now. I think you remember something else."

Pride shook his head. He knows that his brother is trying to help him with remembering his past life, but they have a huge obstacle in their way. "But, I'm not allowed to leave."

"Um," the armor thought over his options, "we should go out the window."

The homunculus looked outside to see the window drenched in rain. He really didn't want to go outside to be soaked, even with his new coat. He's always been a little eerily of being around too much water. He's not sure where this feeling originated from, so wanted to keep that a secret.

"Okay, but if you think that we could slip away. I don't want to get beaten up again, Brother." Pride weakly protested.

"It's okay, Brother. We'll be back before the blonde guy realizes that we're gone. But you have to see the house again." The armor was very persistent with this.

His brother grabbed his arm and started to pull him towards the window. The homunculus went very obediently, because he didn't want to argue with his armor brother. The armor started to tie the bedsheets into a rope and the homunculus stopped him, "I don't need that, Brother. I can jump out."

"But we have to climb back up," the brother protested.

The homunculus had to wait a few moments to let the armor finish his rope. Then, he tied it to the end of a bed and lowered it out the opened window. Pride made sure that his brother safely climbed out before he jumped. He was able to climb down the rope very swiftly for his size.

The homunculus jumped out of the second story window and into the muddy grass. It was nice to be outside again. At that moment, he didn't mind that his feet were covered in mud; it was nice to feel freedom again.

His armor brother called his attention once more and beckoned him to come with him. Pride pulled up his hood, before following his brother. The remains of the destroyed house weren't very far away. The armor already made to the front of ruins before Pride could catch them.

The homunculus examined the remains for any more memories to reappear. The land was severely scarred and including the tree next to it. It's a shame what happened here. He took a few steps back and can imagine the crimson flames that engulfed the house. The homunculus doesn't know why someone could justify causing so much destruction.

"Why did you bring me here?" Pride turned to the armor.

His younger brother was not paying attention to the house at all. The armor slightly shook his head and asked, "Do you remember anything else, but the fire?"

Why is this so important to him? The homunculus didn't know what to say. He didn't want to lie to his younger brother, but he wanted him to do something that he couldn't do. "I'm sorry, Brother. All I remember is the fire. Is there anything else I could do?"

The armor sighed heavily. The rain drops made a ping noise whenever they hit the hollow armor. The homunculus wanted get shelter from the rain. It's sad that his only option is the place of his captivity. No, it doesn't have to be.

"Brother, this is a perfect chance to escape."

"Hmm," the armor was flustered again. "No, he'll come looking for you, again even if you leave this town."

The homunculus felt numbing sensation wrap his body and his chest tighten. He stared wide-eyed at the armor in disbelief. Now, he couldn't form the next words. "But, why?"

 _You're Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist._

Those words were drilled into his head. It was the blonde guy's reasoning for keeping him hostage. The blonde homunculus shook his under the drenched red coat. Pride couldn't hold in his frustration anymore. He vented in a shaky voice, "I'm not Edward Elric, I'm not. I'm not made of metal. You could be the Fullmetal Alchemist. I don't know anything about alchemy."

His armor brother waited until he was done with the stunned rant. Then he kneeled to try to get to the homunculus's eye level. "Edward Elric is the blonde's brother. He disappeared over a year ago and he searched the entire country to find him."

 _So he kidnapped me?_ The homunculus furiously thought. He may feel little sympathy for the guy, but it is not an excuse.

But, why him? Pride thought of the fight that took place where they're standing; the memory made him flinch. Pride asked, "Why does he think I'm Edward Elric?"

The armor paused for a second, before answering, "I don't know."

The armor stood up and gestured back to the house, "We should go before they realize we're gone."

Pride looked towards the town. He could see Central from there, but it is still a far away. He couldn't use public transportation and he didn't know if his other brother had left him behind yet. If he makes a run for it, he'll be on foot and the blonde guy would hunt him relentlessly. The homunculus sighed; he doesn't have another choice.

"Okay," the homunculus weakly agreed, again. He hated being dragged around.

This time, the armor stood by Pride as he slowly walked back to his captivity. He nearly carried him through the window. Their little spree couldn't have last more than a few minutes. Pride wanted to make sure that the coast was clear.

Pride stealthy walked to the bedroom door. During his past attempts, if touched the door, it would shock him, this time it didn't. The homunculus moved the door ajar to peak into the hallway. Of course, the blonde man was standing a few feet from the door. His arms were folded and his back was pressed to the wall. The guy turned his head to Pride's stare. He quickly closed the door to avoid eye contact.

The homunculus felt a little helpless. It was bad that a human could make a homunculus cower so much. He turned around to face his armor brother again, but he stopped when he saw the opened window.

Pride was paralyzed with fear and he backed into the wall as if he could move the wall.

The armor noticed the drastic change in the homunculus's behavior and tried to console him, "What is it, Brother?"

Pride was visibly trembling where he stood. He ignored the armor's words. He started to mutter through the words, I'm sorry, repeatedly to thin air.

The armor was getting anxious. "Brother, who are you talking to?"

"M-my," Pride stumbled on his words.

The armor followed his gaze to a black crow that was sitting on the window sill. The small crow was staring directly at them with purple eyes. When the armor saw the crow's stare, Pride was finally able to answer, "It's my brother."

* * *

 **A/N: Finally, geez, this is a hard story for me, because it is darker than most of my stories. Thank you for sticking it out with me. I DO NOT LIKE Envy at all and neither will Alphonse. His perspective will be the next chapter.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Final chapter. It's a bittersweet moment.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_

* * *

 **Remember Me**

* * *

"It's my brother."

Alphonse snapped out of his meditative state. Rage bubbled inside him, because that could only be one person. Al growled the name, "Envy."

He transmuted a spear in ten seconds. After that he kicked opened the bedroom door and lunged the spear through the small crow's neck. The crow didn't fall off the window sill. It sat there with the spear hanging from its neck like it was nothing.

Pride started wailing hysterically, "No! Please, don't hurt my brother!"

Al had to multitask. With his mind, he made the armor scoop up Pride and took him to another room. The armor repeated what he already thought, "Brother, don't it's too dangerous."

Red lighting flashed around the spear. The black crow was definitely Envy. "Is that anyway to treat your guest?" Al hated his voice.

Envy mortified to his actual state. When the shifting was complete, he was able to pull the spear out of his neck. Envy sat on the window sill like he belonged there, then he smiled evilly at him, "We're practically family now"

Al growled at that statement. The anger that was accumulating for three days straight was getting harder to control with each passing second he watched Envy. His fists were twitching and he was starting to see red. However, seeing Ed's favorite color only made it worse. Al used the little voice he had, "Give me my brother back."

In his mind, Al can hear Pride's pleading to the armor. He was begging the armor to let him go fight and defend his brother. It shattered his heart to know that Pride wanted fight with Envy.

"Shouldn't I say that? You're the one who kidnapped my baby brother," Envy smirked at him.

That was it. Al clapped and catapulted Envy out of the room. It left a huge hole in the wall, but it didn't matter at the time. This fight was far from over and Al still had a lot of frustration to vent. He grabbed the rope the armor left behind and safely made it to the ground. Envy couldn't be that far away.

"ENVY!"

AL barely recognized his own voice. He was so hurt and it showed through his extremely strained yell. He had to concentrate to look through heavy rainfall. In the dense fog, he saw a figure rise from the ground. Al approached it with his weapon pointing at blurred figure. The next thing he saw was Envy's ridiculous outfit.

"What was that for? I merely stated the obvious."

"What did you do to my brother!?" He yelled through the rain's mist. That was a question that wanted answer for a long time.

Envy held the palm of his hands up, posed as if he was innocent, "I didn't do anything to him. I don't have the power to make more homunculi only Father does."

"You let him turn my brother into a monster?" Al was still using his strained voice. It hurt his throat to talk like that.

Envy huffed, "I can't go against my father. It's such a shame. We had high hopes for him and he turned to be whiny and worthless baby." Envy shook his head at the thought, "He actually fell for the puppet armor trick. How stupid could he be?"

Alphonse waste any time to attack at Envy again. With blind rage, Al repeatedly tried to stab the homunculus. Alphonse was too focused to on eliminating his target. Envy tried to keep up, but rapid jabs were getting harder to dodge and Al didn't follow a pattern, just him.

Envy jumped back to gain distance from the blond. He noticed the vacant stare in Al's eyes and hatched a plan in mere seconds. Envy asked diligently, "What's wrong, little Al? Did Pride steal your tongue?"

"I want my brother," Al kept growling at the homunculus, "GIVE HIM BACK!"

"As you wish," Envy wanted a good look as Alphonse's face as he shifted again.

Alphonse was charging at Envy until he noticed Envy's new form. The spear was inches from the homunculus's face, but it wasn't his face anymore. Al stopped his attack, because he saw the Fullmetal Alchemist again. He saw his red coat, his gold hair, and his gold stare, again.

Al remembered that it was a trick. He continued to try to stab the homunculus's head. Edward flinched back a little surprised, "What are you doing, Brother?" He has the audacity to use his voice, too. Al hated him so much.

Al kept swing at the homunculus, "You can't fool me, Envy. I know it's you."

"What are you talking about, Brother?"

Al was trembling where he stood. He was filled with so much anger that he couldn't channel it properly. Envy imitating Edward was a low blow. That's what Envy does; he will do or say thing to throw off his opponent to defeat him. It will not happen again. He is also responsible for Fullmetal's disappearance in the first place and he needed to remember that to do this.

"My brother was the most selfless person who walked the face of this Earth." Al felt himself crying again.

The heavy rainfall masked his tears for him. He approached the imposter and stared into his gold eyes. He got that part right; his eyes looked genuine. But, there was a crucial part of Fullmetal that he did get wrong.

"You didn't copy Edward correctly, Envy." Al began to raise the spear and plunged it into Envy's right shoulder, "The automail arm was his right arm, not his left."

Envy was howling in pain. How could he feel pain? After everything that he had done to humanity and after how much misery he loves to cause to innocent people. It felt a little good to hear him whimper in agony.

Alphonse jolted the lodged spear and ripped his right arm off. Envy used his left hand to cover up the wound. It was so ironic. Al sighed as he remembered a distant, but very painful memory.

"When I first woke up in the metal armor, Edward was hunched over in that position trying to keep the blood from gushing out of his shoulder. I didn't have time to react to the new body, because I had to make sure that he didn't bleed to death. I remember that like it was yesterday, but it was forever ago." He couldn't believe that he was telling Envy this.

Well, no one bothered to hear his side of this story, because it's a story that people only wanted to hear once and never mention again. The Elric Brothers couldn't go a day without being reminded of their worst mistake they ever made and tried to play God. That experience was changed both of their lie forever and started a long domino effect to Edward's demise.

"This is a nice trip down memory lane." Ed's fake voice was so irritating to hear.

Al growled again. Edward wouldn't talk about that night in carefree tone. That night was his motivation that got him through the military and restored Al's body. Envy needs to change out of Fullmetal's shape. No one could imitate Edward Elric.

Al grinned at the hurt homunculus. He did love talking about his brother. Al used the spear again to pierce the Envy's leg and began another explanation, "Before Ed have to give a limb to save my life, his left leg was taken from him for his arrogance for trying to bring our mother back from the dead."

"Stop it!" This is wonderful and perfect timing.

Alphonse was talking about Fullmetal so much that he forgot about Pride. Al removed the spear from the homunculus's leg. Envy finally shifted back to his actual state, but with his right arm missing. It was already starting to heal. He wasn't human. Losing a limb meant nothing to him.

Al faced the blonde distraught homunculus. He could see the hatred in dead amber eyes. The man who tried to kill him has turned on his own brother. Al watched Pride summon his large scythe, but Al's is not going give him a chance to use it. With a quick clap, Al bounded the homunculus's legs with stone and abruptly ended the inevitable fight.

Al didn't want to give Pride another reason to hate him, but his disgust towards Envy, his fake brother, is something that he'll never understand. The alchemist watched the homunculus flopped to the ground, utterly helpless. Al dodged the scythe that Pride dropped by accident.

There was nothing that the alchemist could say to Pride. He's already restrained and not able to fight with his brother. The blonde homunculus moved around as much as he could with the huge stone ball that bonded his feet. Pride bowed his head to the muddy ground and he began to plead for his brother's safety, "Please don't hurt him anymore. Please, he's my brother."

Pride's begging only made Alphonse angrier at Envy. If only Pride could understand his frustration. Al's voice was still very hoarse when he replied to the plea, "He took my brother from me and broke him. There's nothing you could do to change what he did."

Pride had very little pride, because he was kneeling in mud and rain. There's no telling what Envy or the other homunculi did to get Ed to that point. Al had to command the armor to scrap Pride off the ground while he takes care of Envy.

The old armor came rushing out of the dense fog and immediately pulled Pride off the ground. Pride struggled to get out of the armor's arms and tried to explain, "But brother, I can't leave him behind."

"Brother?" Envy was limbs were finally healed and he was able to stand up again.

He swiftly dodged the jabs that came from Al's spear. "That thing is not your brother. It's a puppet that's being controlled by someone. Can't you figure that out you imbecile?"

 _Shut up, shut up,_ Alphonse was trying to cut off Envy's mouth at that point.

Fortunately for him, he found Pride's discarded scythe and was able to block off the spear. He stared straight at Pride and the armor and said, "I'll show you."

At that very moment, Alphonse started to panic, because he had an idea what Envy was planning. He wasn't focused enough to make two different bodies react at the same time. The armor turned around tried to flee the scene when the scythe impaled his chest and sliced off the left side of his body. The soul transfer wore off after all of that damage. Al and Pride watched in shock at the massive armor fell in pieces.

Pride's eyes where wide like saucers and was visibly trembling. Envy stood over him as he desperately tried to wake his armor brother with a shaken voice. This was a new low for both of the homunculi. Envy growled again and raised the scythe to strike, "You're pathetic."

Alphonse snapped out of his shock. It took two seconds to send a huge stone fist to knock Envy twenty feet away from Pride. Al approached Envy with Pride's eyes watching him. He gestured the spear towards the armor and said, "You're going to pay for that."

Alphonse had a new reason to stab Envy in the throat and he wanted to really badly. Envy, on the other hand, was exhausted and still in a lot of pain. The homunculi's recovery time slows down when their hit multiple times. He huffed and said, "Maybe next time, little Al. Keep the crybaby."

Al twitched. There's not going to be a next time. He lunged at Envy again, but he shifted into a crow and flew away. Since he no other option, he used the spear to plop the crow out of the sky. It was a direct hit and Envy didn't get very far. A few feet away, Alphonse found the spear abandoned and Envy nowhere in sight. Either he faded in thin air or shifted to a smaller animal to escape. Al really wished it was the first thing.

That's one problem solved. Alphonse could finally calm down and hear the sound of the rain again. Al could also hear the soft sobbing from a distance. He had another thing to do. He approached Pride and his mutilated brother and said, "The damage is not that bad. The armor's been through worse."

Pride looked up at Al as he approached him. His eyes were red; worn down from crying. The rain hid the tears on his face. Alphonse held his hands up and cautiously step forward, "Do you remember? It was raining that day too and a guy named Scar completely immobilized him with one touch, but he restored with another one."

Pride had the armor's head hugged tightly against his chest. Seeing his devotion to the armor gave Al hope that Fullmetal could still be recovered. Alphonse glanced at the armor. There was a huge diagonal cut that sliced off its shoulder. Inside the red transmutation circle was still intact.

Al moved the dismembered metal arm towards the rest of the body. Pride was observing every move he made as he clapped and used alchemy to repair the armor.

Pride studied the brand new armor and stealthy asked, "How did you do that?"

Al thought he would never ask, "I used alchemy to repair him."

Al noted the confused look on Pride's face. He offered, "I could teach it to you; if you want to learn it."

Pride kept his eyes on the armor. There's no telling what was going through his head at that moment. Al is relieved that he is not asking what happened to Envy. Alphonse kneeled next to him. It was the first time that Al was this close to Pride and he wasn't struggling to get away from him.

"Thank you," Pride's small acknowledgement meant everything to Alphonse.

* * *

The blond homunculus picked at his new clothes. He was so use to Envy's hand-me-downs to consider anything else. Also, other articles of clothing weren't an option for him. He looked down at the plain white long sleeve shirt and black long pants and thought about how covered up he was. It felt a little more comfortable then his last outfit.

He still needs a little validation, "What do you think, Brother?"

The colossal armor that was took up more than half of his small bed. The armor nodded and said, "I like the new clothes. It looks very nice on you, Brother."

Pride knew he wasn't going to say to that. The armor doesn't remember being torn apart earlier that day, but he's been in a very cheerful mood since the fight with Envy. Also, so does the blonde guy and Winry. They seem to be a little more relaxed. Maybe they're relieved that he didn't go his other brother. Technically his brother left him behind.

There's not much that Pride could do. He doesn't know how to get home from there. He still doesn't know the name of the town he's in. Envy told him the bare minimum and never included him in decision-making. He's a little relieved that he doesn't have to go back to that dark dungeon.

"How about you ask Winry if she likes the outfit too?" the armor suggested.

"Okay," his armor brother is so considerate.

Pride went to the bedroom door to find Winry in the hallway. She was standing patiently next to the doorway. Before Pride could ask how Winry felt about the outfit, she collapsed. Pride reached out his arms and stopped her from falling to the ground. Confused and disorientated, Pride scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his brother. He'll know what to do.

"Brother, there's something wrong with her." Pride carefully showed the dizzy girl to his brother.

Al saw Winry's flushed face and said, "She'll be fine. I think that she really likes your oufit."

Pride heard the amusement in his voice. It's probably another human reaction he doesn't recognize. It was kind of funny to see Winry so bemused over a simple outfit. She started to wiggle in his grasp; she's waking up. The blonde girl quickly realized that she was in Pride's arms again.

"P-Pride, you can put me down now. I'm fine." She usually stutters in this situation.

"Really Winry? You look very flushed." The armor asked amusingly.

"I-I swear I'm fine. Please put me down." She was starting to call

Pride took a few steps to the bed and carefully put her on the bed. He realized that she was holding on to something very tightly; it appeared to be a small bottle. Winry looked down at the small bottle and fiddled with it. "Pride, I want you to try this, too. I have no idea if you'll like it or not, but you should give it a shot."

Pride was a little curious at that point. He looked at small bottle and wondered what could be inside it. The liquid inside was a pale white and opaque. Winry twisted the cap off and shoved it in Pride's hand. He did what he was told and tasted a small mouthful of the strange liquid. The moment the liquid hit his tongue he immediately spit it out.

To Winry and the armor watched the homunculus drastically change the tone of his voice, "Winry, what were you thinking? You know I don't like milk!"

Winry didn't respond. She rose from seat and hugged the blonde. He stared at the armor startled. When Alphonse barged into the room, the homunculus glanced back and forth at him and the armor baffled. Al inhaled deeply and asked, "Really, Edward, a bottle of milk?"

His voice was still shaky, because the homunculus was still very confused, "Al, what happened?"

"I'll tell you later."

That could honestly wait. Al rushed over to hug his older brother. It's been forever since he had the chance to.

* * *

 **A/N: Well, that is it. I am done with this story. I don't have to extend it any further. Everything worked out in the end, sort of. I might do a sequel or an OVA story, later. I haven't thought that far ahead yet.**

 **Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I didn't expect this story to get so popular. I hope you like it. I hope you didn't cry that much. I can admit that I cried when I wrote this story, especially this final chapter. This was not an easy story. I usually like light-hearted stories, not this. Geez, this was hard.**

 **Special thanks to Shiloh Moon, Monica Moss, Kas3y, and Rumicwarrior22 for reviewing almost every chapter I posted. You helped me through my writer's block and part of my motivation to continue on. Also, I thank every single person who followed or favorite this story. That was awesome to see the list growing every week.**

 **That's it. Hoped you enjoyed it.**

 _ **A. Leaf**_


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